NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Binding site

A binding site is a region on a protein to which specific ligands bind. This ability of proteins to bind specific ligands forms the basis for the wide variety of functions that a protein carries out.

An equilibrium exists between unbound ligands and bound ligands. The term saturation refers to the fraction of total binding sites that are occupied at any given time.

When more than one type of ligand can bind to a binding site, competition ensues.

Binding sites also exhibit chemical specificity and affinity.

Binding site - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (191 words)
	In biochemistry, a binding site is a region on a protein, DNA, or RNA to which specific other molecules and ions — in this context collectively called ligands, or more specifically, protein ligands — form a chemical bond.
	Binding sites also exhibit chemical specificity, a measure of the types of ligands that will bond, and affinity, which is a measure of the strength of the chemical bond.
	A more specific type of binding site is the transcription factor binding site, present on DNA.

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